James Lew
James Jene Fae Lew (born September 6, 1952) is an American actor and martial artist. Raised in South Central Los Angeles, James Lew's destiny was to answer a cattle call in Hollywood for the hugely popular Kung Fu (1972) television series. He went on to star in the now collectible Hong Kong film, Young Dragon (1976). He made the move to big budget studio films in 1984. John Carpenter handpicked him as the Martial Arts Choreographer for 20th Century Fox's now cult film, Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mel Gibson, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, David Carradine, Chuck Norris, Dennis Quaid, Kurt Russell, Madonna, Charlie Sheen, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kathleen Turner, Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Lee, Snoop Dogg and the list goes on and on. James was voted "Favorite Action Star" by fans of Inside Martial Arts magazine. Internet fans voted him into the Hall of Fame in the Martial Arts History Museum. Inside Kung Fu Magazine inducted him as one of the "Martial Arts Greats" alongside legends as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and his longtime friend Jackie Chan. Hit Parader Magazine dubbed him "the king of big-screen martial arts villains." From the deadly killer in Red Sun Rising (1994) to the deadly fighter in the comedy spoof Hot Shots 2 (1993), Lew has proven his chops in both drama and comedy. As a stunt/fight coordinator his creative talents shone in the television series The Crow to recent work on the hit video game, The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005). He handpicked elite members for his company, "Hong Kong Wire Action Team," to bring state of the art action to movies. His formula for longevity in the film industry is diversity, hard work and having a whole lot of fun. Most recently, James Lew wrote, directed and starred in a movie inspired by his personal experiences in the business titled 18 Fingers of Death! (2006). The story follows Buford Lee (James Lew), the most famous unknown "B"-minus, low-budget, martial-arts movie star and Ronald Mack (Maurice Patton), a young black kid from the hood. Together they laugh and bond together on their quest to finally make Buford's break out movie, 18 Fingers of Death! (2006).
Escape from L.A.
(Hershe Gang Member)
Angel of Death
(Tommy)
Night Hunter
(Tom Cutter)
American Ninja 5
(Viper)
Do or Die
(Lew)
Robo Warriors
(Darius)
Savage Beach
(Agent #1)
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
(Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage))
Safe House
(Asian (uncredited))
The Girl from the Naked Eye
(Eddie)
Los Angeles Streetfighter
(Chan)
Showdown
(Hit Man)
Private Wars
(Obata)
Aftershock
(Mr. James)
Midnight Man
(Prince Samarki)
High Voltage
(Harry)
Best of the Best
(Sae Jin Kwon)
The Circuit III: Final Flight
(Spider Webb)
Going Berserk
(Kung Fu Fighter)
Big Time
(Karate Instructor)
The Real Deal
(Black Belt)
Balance of Power
(Shinji Takamura)
Breakout
(Cap Ruch)
The Perfect Weapon
(Crewcut)
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
(Self)
Black Salt
(Abbot Xiao)
Deep Core
(Lou Chang)
Big Trouble in Little China
(Chang Sing #1)
Boogie Boy
(Jason)
Night of the Warrior
(Hector Sabatei)
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
(Sinjin)
Gedo
(James)
Tropic Thunder
(Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited))
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
(Lee)
Cage II: The Arena of Death
(Chin)
Ninja Academy
(Ninja Trainer)
Killpoint
(Nighthawk's Gunman #1)
Sin
(Leo Thamaree)
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
(Xu)
Rush Hour
(Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited))
Timecop
(Knife #1)
Made in Chinatown
(Lew)
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
(Beat Cop)
Hot Shots! Part Deux
(Kick Boxer Opponent)
Guns
(Ninja #1)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
(Chinese Leader)
Red Sun Rising
(Jaho)
Mission of Justice
(Akiro)
For Life or Death
(Kaan Woo)
Frankenstein
(Hotel Manager)
Lethal Weapon 4
(Freighter's Captain)
Assault on Dome 4
(Quaid, Windham Henchman)
Superhero Movie
(Shaolin Monk (uncredited))
Outside the Law
(Cho Sung)
Enforcer from Death Row
(Karate Fighter)
Star Trek
(Romulan (uncredited))
Undercover Blues
(Novacek's Man)
The Shadow
(Mongol)
Traffic
(DEA Agent - CalTrans)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
(Guard (uncredited))
Ulterior Motives
(Yakuza #5)
Deadly Target
(Guard #2 (uncredited))
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
(Mercenary (uncredited))
Rapid Fire
(Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited))
Showdown in Little Tokyo
(Yoshida's Man (uncredited))
On Deadly Ground
(Mercenary at Aegis 1 (uncredited))
18 Fingers of Death!
(Buford Lee)
Safe
(Underground Casino Guard (uncredited))
Martial Law
(Tong Member)
Martial Law II: Undercover
(Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited))
Ballistica
(Chinese Guard #1)
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
(Black Dragon Henchman)
Young Dragon
(Shao Lung)
The Replacement Killers
(Bodyguard)
Ballistic
(Woo)
Rush Hour 2
(Triad Gangster (uncredited))
Action Jackson
(Martial Arts Instructor)
Rush Hour 3
(Triad Assassin (uncredited))
Growing Pains
(Movie Villain #2)
CSI: Miami
(ND Man #1)
Alias
(Quan Li)
Entourage
Beauty and the Beast
Roseanne
Walker, Texas Ranger
(Tiger)
Family Matters
(Man in Bar)
Weird Science
Babylon 5
(Bloodhound Teep)
Mortal Kombat: Legacy
(Shang Tsung (uncredited))
Chuck
(Anad Chenerad)
Nasty Boys
(Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited))
Frasier
(Security Guard)
Childrens Hospital
(Mosura)
Nowhere Man
(Thug with knife)
Power Rangers
(Warrior)
T. J. Hooker
(Ton Li / Asian Thug)
Death Valley
(Man on street (uncredited))
I'm Dying Up Here
(Sensei Phil)
MacGyver
(Asian Thug)
Strong Medicine
(Cop)
Marker
She Spies
(Asian Thug / Bodyguard (uncredited))
Murder, She Wrote
(Cambodian)
Eve
Double Impact
(Stunt Coordinator)
Double Impact
(Martial Arts Choreographer)
Made in Chinatown
(Director)
Double Impact
(Stunts)
18 Fingers of Death!
(Writer)
18 Fingers of Death!
(Stunt Coordinator)
They Live
(Stunts)
Planet of the Apes
(Stunts)
Big Trouble in Little China
(Martial Arts Choreographer)
Big Trouble in Little China
(Associate Producer)
Escape from L.A.
(Stunts)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(Stunts)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
(Stunts)
On Deadly Ground
(Stunts)
18 Fingers of Death!
(Director)
Blue Tiger
(Stunts)
Made in Chinatown
(Co-Producer)
Aftershock
(Stunt Coordinator)
Showdown in Little Tokyo
(Stunts)
Ring of Fire
(Stunts)
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
(Stunts)
The Fantastic Seven
(Stunts)
Martial Law II: Undercover
(Stunts)
Hijacked
(Stunt Coordinator)
Inception
(Stunts)
Get Smart
(Fight Choreographer)
LArceny
(Stunts)
Tropic Thunder
(Stunts)
Maximum Impact
(Assistant Director)
Maximum Impact
(Fight Choreographer)
Killers
(Fight Choreographer)
Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser
(Stunt Coordinator)
Made in Chinatown
(Action Director)
Guns
(Stunt Coordinator)
Black Dynamite
(Stunts)
Rapid Fire
(Stunts)
Westworld
(Stunts)
Star Trek: Voyager
(Stunt Coordinator)